


To Freedom

by Sasusquatch



Category: Aldnoah.Zero (Anime)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-14
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-14 16:04:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4570746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sasusquatch/pseuds/Sasusquatch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slaine escapes from prison after the end of the series and seeks to start a new life on Earth.  Started out as a short drabble, going to be expanded to a short fic by request.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Escape

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo this was just a drabble but I got a very enthusiastic request to make it into a full fic so here we go??? Updates will probably be sporadic and I doubt the entire story will be very long but I figured I might as well do it!

It had been months since the war between Mars and Earth had ended, and Inaho had been coming to visit Slaine every so often.  The visits were generally boring; Inaho would answer a few of Slaine’s questions regarding the world outside, how things were going, etc.  Slaine slowly began to recover mentally, though when he heard that he was being blamed for pretty much everything that had gone wrong he was incredibly hurt.

Had he been bad enough to justify this treatment?  Did Princess Asseylum hate him?

When Slaine had first been in captivity he wished for nothing more than death.  He wanted to die, he had no reason to live anymore.  But as time continued on Slaine realized that he needed to get out, that even though he had done bad things he didn’t deserve to be locked up forever.  He’d been treated cruelly for almost as long as he could remember and he was tired of it.  He was going to break out and go somewhere where nobody would ever find him ever again.

He waited until the next time Inaho came to visit.  With the other boy there, and the fact that Slaine had been behaving himself for a very long time, security was more lax than usual.  As usual the brown-haired boy tried to start up a game of chess, which Slaine joined in only halfheartedly.  They talked for a bit before he took action.

Slaine had noticed early on that Inaho always had a pistol on him, and as he began to enact his escape plan he lunged across the table and swiped it from its holster.  Inaho was shocked and tried to grab the weapon before it was out of reach but Slaine was quicker.  

The first step was to get out of the visiting room.  Slaine quickly took aim and shot out the lights, causing the windowless room to turn pitch black.  He heard guards stumbling around, shouting instructions to each other.  Slaine backed into a corner until his eyes had adjusted just enough to find the exit.  To clear the way he tossed a piece of scrap metal lying on the ground to the opposite side of the room, causing the guards to run towards the noise.  With the exit now clear he ran through the door and began to quickly and quietly make his way through the facility.

The compound wasn’t too hard to navigate, considering Slaine had spent most of his life aboard space ships and in other large areas that could quickly get confusing.  And the guards were loud enough that avoiding them was also simple.  The hardest part was escaping the building as a whole.  Of course, that’s what the gun was for.

Four guards had been posted at the exit, all on high alert and weapons at the ready.  Slaine wasn’t sure whether they were trying to capture him or kill him, but either way he’d never get another chance to escape if he messed this up.  The young man took a deep breath and readied his pistol.  He was determined not to kill these men, he’d had enough of murder.

He darted from around the corner and popped a bullet into the nearest guard’s kneecap.  Then before the other three could react he rapidly fired at their legs as well, all the while getting around them to make his way to the large glass doors to the outside.  A bullet whizzed past his head and shattered the glass, but Slaine didn’t slow.  He shoved the door open and began sprinting, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he scanned the open area.  He had no idea where he was, no idea where he could safely hide, but he knew that he had to keep moving.  Slaine could only hope that he’d find a safe place to lay low until he could find an alternate way of traveling.


	2. The Island

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support so far, everyone! Like I said in the summary, this fic probably won't be super long and updates will be a little sporadic since I'm in college and I have another fic that's currently taking priority, but I'll try to update as often as I can!

            It didn’t take long for Slaine to realize that he’d been imprisoned on an island.  Luckily for him there didn’t seem to be anything else there other than a dense forest and a dock to allow people to travel to and from the mainland.  Though what mainland that happened to be Slaine didn’t know. 

            After his escape he traveled as far into the forest as he could, splashing through any water he found to hide his scent in case there happened to be dogs around.  He ran for a good half an hour before reaching the edge of the land.  He had skidded to a halt just before a sheer cliff, heart pounding as he realized how dangerously close he was to falling to his death.  Slaine eyed the descent, wondering whether or not he could climb down to the shore.  There was a chance he’d be safer there since it appeared hard to get to, but that also meant that if he was found he’d have nowhere to go but the ocean.  He debated for several minutes, weighing the pros and cons, before ultimately deciding against it.  What he needed to focus on was finding a way off the island, and staying hidden for any long amount of time only increased his chances of getting caught in the end.

            Slaine set off again, keeping his ears and eyes constantly focused on his surroundings.  On occasion he’d hear someone, in which case he’d climb into the nearest tree until he couldn’t hear anything anymore.  By the time the sun had set Slaine had covered a lot of ground, and had managed to locate the dock he’d seen from his cell window.  He concealed himself in some nearby foliage, ignoring the strongly smelling flowers and itchy ferns that yanked at his clothes.  From there he watched and waited, eyes taking in as much detail as they could.  The dock was heavily guarded, no doubt because of his escape.  A small boat was tethered in place, bobbing up and down on the small waves created by the gentle breeze.  All of the men milling around the area had guns and were clearly on high alert. 

            Slaine’s heart sank as he realized that escaping from the island could very well prove to be impossible without some sort of help.  He snorted at the idea.  The chances of anyone willing to help him were probably less than zero, unless he could somehow find Inaho and convince him that he deserved to be free.  Although Slaine assumed that that scenario was just as unlikely as the first.

            The young man sat back on his heels and let out a quiet sigh.  He probably should have put more thought into this escape plan.  He could always try to swim for it, but it was unlikely that he’d survive.  He could try to hijack the boat, but attempting to do so now would likely leave him riddled with bullet holes, and dying was not something he currently felt like doing.  The third option was to try and stay hidden for as long as possible, hoping that eventually the higher ups would presume that he was no longer on the island, giving him a better chance at sneaking aboard or stealing a boat.  Slaine mulled over the ideas and ultimately decided that it would be for the best if he waited for a bit, even if that meant only a few hours.  His escape had left him exhausted and more than anything else he needed to rest before he tried anything reckless.

            Upon making this decision Slaine quietly headed back deeper into the forest and found a tall tree to climb into, hoping that the thick leaves would keep him concealed for the night.  He settled himself down on one of the larger branches, quietly hoping he would roll off as he slept, and closed his eyes.  A few short hours later he was rudely awaken by a familiar voice.

            “Found you.”


	3. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty short chapter, but I'll probably update again this week! Enjoy! (lmao it's been forever since I've watched AZ I hope Inaho is mostly in character)

            Slaine bolted upright, only for his head to knock into Inaho’s.  The former swore angrily, hand flying up to his forehead.  The latter merely winced and rubbed the pain away.  After Slaine regained his senses he froze, realizing that the current situation was very bad indeed.  He reached for the pistol he had stolen during his escape, only to find it missing.  Inaho answered the unspoken question by holding up the gun, a small smirk playing at his lips.  Slaine glowered, hands curling into fists.

            “I had a feeling you wouldn’t get very far,” Inaho mused, examining the weapon in his hands.  “You’re not crazy enough to try and swim across the ocean, and you’re rational enough to realize that trying to steal a boat is basically impossible.  Naturally, you’d still be on the island somewhere.”

            Slaine resisted the urge to roll his eyes, now was not the time to be antagonizing his rival, especially considering he had the upper hand.  “Is there a reason why you haven’t shot me yet?”

            “I’m curious, mostly.  Not all that long ago you were wishing you were dead, so why try to escape?  I was under the impression that you thought you didn’t have anything to live for.”

            “That’s my business, not yours.”

            Inaho shrugged.  “Alright.  But if you don’t give me a good reason to not kill you right now, this is the end of the line.”

            Slaine’s eyes narrowed.  “I’ve told you practically everything about me between all of your visits.  Surely you understand how unfairly I’ve been treated?  DON’T I DESERVE A CHANCE AT A HAPPY LIFE?”  He had allowed himself to get all worked up, despite trying to keep himself under control.  Slaine’s voice echoed through the forest, rousing several birds from their slumber.  His shoulders shook, hands clenching and unclenching.  “Maybe I’ve done bad things, but what about the bad things that were done _to_ me?  Don’t those count for anything?  Why don’t I ever receive anything but misfortune?”

            Inaho listened silently, expressionless.  Slaine continued.

            “I just want to try and live a normal life.  That’s all.”  He took deep, shuddering breaths, trying to get himself back under control.  “But if you want to shoot me, fine.  At least that will be the last misfortune I receive.”  Slaine’s blue eyes steadily met Inaho’s brown ones, waiting for an answer.

            “…alright. I’ll help you escape.” 


	4. Teamwork

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took longer than expected, heh. I feel like my brain is urging me to go back into a period of writing dormancy, but I refuse to let it do so until I finish the fics I have going at the moment. The next chapter is the last one! Enjoy!

            Inaho left Slaine in the forest after giving him a set of instructions.  Slaine was to wait in the forest all day, preferably not moving around much so that Inaho could find him if necessary.  When night fell Slaine was then to head toward the docks and wait for a signal.  Inaho didn’t elaborate on what exactly the signal would be, and only vaguely said that Slaine would “know it when he saw it.”

            So Slaine begrudgingly did as he was told.  He spent most of his day dozing, waking up whenever he heard something close by.  As the sun began to set he fidgeted impatiently but dared not to leave the shelter the tree branches provided him.  By the time the moon had come out his nerves were shot.  He quietly climbed down from his perch, eyes darting around the entire time.  As his feet touched the ground he immediately drew his pistol, which Inaho had been kind enough to give back to him.  Slaine crept through the underbrush, muscles tense and ready to spring into action should he be attacked.  It took him nearly half an hour to reach the docks at his slow pace, but it was better to be careful than to be hasty and risk the chance of being detected. 

            Slaine crouched in the same bushes he had been in the other day.  Everything seemed peaceful, even the guards posted around the area seemed relaxed.  Minutes passed uneventfully.  Just as Slaine was starting to get nervous, that maybe something had happened to Inaho, or that he’d been set up, he noticed something strange.  The guards had seemed relaxed before but now they were practically dead on their feet.  One of the guards had stopped patrolling and had instead decided to lean up against a tree near the edge of the forest.  Further away one had fallen face first onto the sand.  _What’s going on…?_

            Not a minute later and all of the guards were out for the count, though Slaine didn’t know whether they were sleeping or dead.  Before he could too much thought into the question a sound broke through the silence; the noise of a boat engine starting up.  Slaine stood with a start.  _That must be the signal!_   He sprinted towards the docks, no longer worried about being careful.  Though he was prepared to be attacked everything was still.  The guards stayed where they had fallen and nobody seemed to be drawn to the sudden noise.  As Slaine neared the boats he saw Inaho standing on the deck of a small craft at the far end of the docks.  He made his way to the boat, every fiber of his being still tense and ready for a fight.  Inaho greeted him after he climbed up.

            “That went better than I expected,” the brown haired boy admitted. 

            “What did you do to them?” Slaine asked.

            “I gave them a drug that would make them fall asleep.  I slipped it into their water.”

            “That sounds like something straight out of a cartoon…”

            Inaho shrugged.  “It worked, didn’t it?  Here.”  He pulled a pack off of his shoulder and placed it on the floor in front of Slaine.  “Some supplies I figured you’d find useful.  You should be able to read the mainland before dawn if you head north.”

            Slaine took the pack gratefully, though he now had a hard time finding the words to express his gratitude.  “…thank you.  I wouldn’t have been able to escape without your help.”

            Inaho blinked.  “Don’t thank me yet.  It’ll be a long time before you’re actually safe.  You should get going, it won’t be long until someone realizes that something’s wrong.”

            “Right.”  Slaine held his hand out, a final gesture to put past differences behind them.  Inaho shook his hand, a small smile on his face.

            “Don’t get caught again, I won’t be able to help.”

            “I’d sooner die than go back to jail.”  The look on Slaine’s face was grim with those words.  Inaho nodded once before climbing down the ladder to the docks.  After the other boy was safely away from the boat Slaine went to the wheel and prepared to leave.  _No turning back now, I’m going to get out of here and live my own life._


	5. A Life Worth Living

            Slaine made it to the mainland without any problems, though he had no idea where he actually was.  That detail wasn’t terribly important though, what mattered was that his chances of evading capture were now much higher than they had been 24 hours ago.  After he unloaded anything useful from the boat he pushed it as far into the water as he could without getting himself too wet.  The further away the boat was from where he had landed the better.  Satisfied with covering up his tracks a bit, Slaine began to make his way inland.

            He found a copse of trees just as the sun began to rise and decided to take shelter among them for the day.  Wandering around in broad daylight would be risky for him for a while; news was sure to get out about his escape.  He’d have to lay low. 

            For several days he made little progress.  He was constantly pursued and remaining hidden was his top priority.  He eventually made it to a city where blending in was easier, and he was able to figure out where he was.  Slaine had been kept on a small island not far from Kauai.  So while his current situation was better than it had been, he was still fairly trapped.  The sooner he was able to make it to a larger landmass the better.

            It took nearly a month but Slaine was finally able to sneak aboard a cargo ship bound for North America.  From there on out his life got much easier.  He still needed to lay low but many people had stopped actively searching for him by the time three months had passed.  He traveled through the United States as best as he could, usually by bus using the little money Inaho had left him with the bag of supplies.  He ultimately made it to the east coast, and from there began figuring out a way to get to Europe.  He eventually found himself aboard a cargo plane bound for Spain.

            After his successful trip to Europe Slaine felt like he could relax just a little bit more.  He was far from where he had started, and unless a member of the general public recognized him it was unlikely that he’d have to fear being hunted down.  So he decided that it was time to start looking for a job, and to figure out how he was going to live his life from there on out.

            This was easier said than done, of course.  But if he could get some false documents made up then he’d be in good shape.

            ***

            Five years later and Slaine finally allowed himself to be completely at peace.  He had finally managed to get the keys to his own place, a small house located in a quiet part of Italy.  He stood on his porch and watched the sunset, stretching quietly as a small smile made its way onto his face. 

Maybe he didn’t really deserve this small amount of happiness, maybe he really should have spent the rest of his life rotting away in prison, but by now Slaine had come to terms with his past deeds, knowing that he had done bad things, but that didn’t make him a bad person.  All he wanted now was to spend the rest of his days quietly, keeping busy with his job or some hobby he may eventually pick up.  If the rest of his life was like that, then he’d be able to say that he’d lived a life worth living.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, this little fic has come to an end! Man, finishing a fic feels good, even if it was just a short one. It's been awhile since I've written something all the way through to the end. I hope you guys enjoyed it!


End file.
